‘Elahi rejected the bid on his own’

CDA chairperson did not consult the authority before rejecting a bid on Margalla Towers’ plot about nine months ago.

ISLAMABAD: An official of the Finance Wing of Capital Development Authority (CDA) said on Monday that the authority’s chairperson did not consult them before rejecting a bid on Margalla Towers’ plot about nine months ago.

Bidding on the plot took place back in December 2009. Three firms participated. APCO — the builders of Pak Avenue apartments in F-11 — bid Rs1.35 billion at Rs115,000 per square yard. Maqbool Associates came in second with a bid of Rs112,500 per square yard, while Shad Enterprises did not submit a bid. CDA rejected APCO’s winning bid.

CDA Chairperson Imtiaz Inayat Elahi told The Express Tribune that CDA Board had taken the decision to reject the bid. Elahi said CDA had already given Rs1.75 billion in compensation to 143 victims of the ill-fated residential flats. “How can we sell the land for less than the compensation money we paid to the victims,” he explained.

However, Member Finance Wing of CDA, Saeedur Rehman challenged this assertion and said the decision to cancel the bid was not decided by the board. “Yes, the issue was discussed in the board meeting but a final decision was not made [by them],” he said.

Rehman added that the cash-strapped authority could not ignore the “ground realities” as the real estate prices in Islamabad are down. “It is necessary that we take a financial decision in this regard so that we can get some much-needed money.”

Chairperson Elahi said the authority was planning to re-auction the plot soon. “The prime minister has allowed us to settle the issue as we deem it fit,” he said. One-and-a-half block of the five-block apartments collapsed in the October 2005 earthquake, killing 72 people.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2010.